AIBU?
To not be paranoid about Alexa?
PoxAlert · 28/10/2018 21:53
My husband seems way OTT worried that an Amazon echo is going to listen in to our life.
I'm of the opinion that.
1 - surely it won't/can't/isn't allowed.
2 - we're fucking boring anyway. Not like I read our our credit card numbers etc.
And if I do just go ahead and buy myself one (mainly for Spotify) will I regret getting an echo dot over a standard echo. Is the music quality bad?
Teenagerwoes · 30/10/2018 10:31
Google, Facebook (all social media), amazon, all provide targeted ads
They are all listening aren’t they? That’s the age we live in isn’t it? We all agree to this when we accept the terms and conditions of all the apps we use.
Only difference is Alexa only listens at home (unless you have the app on your phone, as if you do they probably listen everywhere)!
Sowhatifidosnore · 30/10/2018 13:00
They are ALWAYS listening, and gathering information on you which will then be used for marketing, and sold on. That's already happening, and the small print for these things sort of admits to it. I have a police mate, senior, who's all for the info being accessed by the police and fighting for that, and of course the police/ government in her opinion will ONLY use it to catch the bad guys, so really why should we worry?? And big business will only sue them for are own good. I wouldn;t have a device like this in my home if you paid me in gold. I can take the extra 2 seconds to push play myself.
Sowhatifidosnore · 30/10/2018 13:11
scienceline.org/2018/04/smart-speaker-records-often-think/
Here you go, read this then decide.
Cherries101 · 30/10/2018 13:13
Next year you’ll be able to say ‘Alexa pay 30 thousand pounds to Joe Blogs’ account?’ And anyone whose voice is registered on alexa can do that. However, Alexa is nowhere near as secure as any banking device, so expect your voice to be hacked copied and used as a biometric to clean out your account.
Weathergirl1 · 30/10/2018 13:18
So this extract from last week's New Scientist magazine... That is more than just targeting stuff related to browser history! I draw a line at this sort of intrusion. We don't have an Alexa and wouldn't get one - there's something quite uncomfortable about it being linked directly to a Amazon which is a large retailer IMHO.
Hidillyho · 30/10/2018 13:20
Wasn’t there an episode of south park that managed to set enough Alexa’s off? I don’t watch South Park or have an Alexa but I think they used the trigger words for it in the episode.
Would I get one? Probably not. Not so much because of the listening in and more to do with the fact I don’t want to purchase something to do a job of things I already have around the house. I would only use it for music anyway and we can do that with the laptop and speakers
LittleMissMarker · 30/10/2018 13:47
Why would they bother to listen to normal people?
To find out what normal people say and connect it to what normal people buy and where they go and what they do and when they say it and do it. To find out how to influence normal people, whether it's buying things or voting. To find out the differences between normal and not-normal people, so as to detect when you aren't normal, or predict when you're going to stop being normal. Perhaps that will be useful.
These gadgets are of course convenient. I expect those native Americans thought they had nothing to lose by taking nice useful wampum and handing over pointless pieces of paper with their land rights in exchange. You don't have to value your privacy, but what you don't value, someone else might take from you.
bonbonours · 30/10/2018 14:14
I haven't got one but I do think people are overly paranoid about them and general 'google/big brother /the robots' are watching/"listening.
I'm not a criminal so I have nothing to hide. My daily life is irrelevant and uninteresting to anybody else. If I get targeted marketing as a result a) it might be more useful to me than random marketing b) if I don't want it I won't buy it.
boomfloom · 30/10/2018 14:42
bonbonours
Your life is very interesting and relevant to those people who make their living out of your choices. Let's say you really need to buy a new washing machine because the current one is broken and they know your preferences (eg 9kg load, 1400rpm spin, has to be metallic grey). Next time you go online you might just find that the washing machine you want is £50 more expensive that it would be for me simply because they know you have no choice but to buy it. It is already happening with flights (even without Alexa).
EeeSheWasThin · 30/10/2018 14:45
This was in the news a while ago
www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/24/amazon-alexa-recorded-conversation
DevilThatWearsPrada · 30/10/2018 15:51
We will never have Alexa. It listens to everything & searches for keywords to respond to. Do you know what happens to the other words that it is not responding to? Am pretty sure they are being logged away on a server creating 'patterns' against a person's name. In the future it can all come back to haunt you.
Won't be long before police are asking for Alexa backups to solve burglaries and divorce lawyers asking for Alexa backup to prove affairs.
Never.
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